Making it a Truly Inclusive World – Schneider Electric India

February 1223:522018

Schneider Electric India

With Women’s Week just behind me I was overwhelmed with all that has been written and said about the International Women’s Day. Discussions on the topic have started sounding a bit cliched but here’s a question- do you belong to the pro Women’s Day or the not-so-pro Women’s Day? Do you think Women’s Day is a bit of a farce? Or do we embrace it wholeheartedly and enjoy celebrating it with well-crafted multi-media messages, wishing each other more ‘Power’? Alternatively, is it just a day to thank the women for their mere presence in your life?

Well yes! There certainly exists several views on the issue. It demarcates two clear groups with exactly opposite opinions and social media is swamped with debates around it. Some feel celebrating ‘Women’s Day’ is just as fake as it could be with issues like safety, glass ceiling, hidden biases, pay inequality and prejudices. These are easily found almost everywhere. Then there is another set of people who is talking about the recent women empowerment taking place with all the initiatives by corporate and government. Organisations today are quite focused on creating a gender balanced workforce, as women comprises 50% of the population. Leveraging the talent they possess is key to an overall economic growth.

We may want to accept and be gratified by the fact that we are living in an era where discussions on women liberation and empowerment are happening. Fortunately, we have a number of platforms, opportunities, especially with the digital boon, where we can speak our minds, talk about any challenging or unfavorable circumstance, interact with our peers and drive the situation in our favor -at least sometimes if not always. We may still have a long way to go to make this world a better place for women.

However, is everyone talking about gender equality? Is everyone leveraging the advantages, opportunities that the growing economy has for us? It is just the urban women population that has the right awareness. Women who belong to the not-so-privileged part of the society are still struggling for their rights. Sometimes they don’t even know their rights. To witness where they stand today, you just need to ask your house-help what Women’s Day means to them? The look on their face will say it all.

Are We There Yet?

While corporate, government organisations and various institutions are taking progressive steps towards the upliftment of underprivileged women population. This task is much bigger and much challenging. Can we make a difference here? A little more push towards women empowerment is the need of the hour and we can all make it happen. As per global reports, underprivileged women form a huge chunk of the women population. Hence making it impossible to grow without their growth.

More power to those who believe in an inclusive growth. To those who are making efforts to extend every possible opportunity to those who are in real need. Education and awareness are the two key pillars of this agenda to empowerment. It’s simple to take a few small steps that can make a big difference in someone’s life.